Sunday, April 24, 2005

A Great Deal of Hope on Earth Day 2005

Joel Makower has posted an Earth Day reflection on the state of sustainable development in the business world, and finds reasons to be optimistic. And while some may accuse him of being a Pollyanna, he's got the facts to back up his hope:

The changes may be slow in coming and largely imperceptible to the general public -- but they’re very real. Some of the world’s largest companies are changing their thinking, their policies, and even their business models with an eye toward sustainability. In most cases, these shifts are still relatively small, limited perhaps to one business unit, facility, or product line. Few of these companies are talking publicly about what they’re thinking or doing, fearing the wrath of activists for not doing enough -- though I think that in the coming year we’ll see more big companies putting a stake in the ground on their environmental commitments.

Of course, Joel doesn't claim that everything's rosy and we can now rest knowing our work is done -- far from it. But one could certainly claim that there is momentum building in some of the right directions.